The Purple People Eaters, The Iron Curtain, Orange Crush, The Immaculate Reception, The Galloping Ghost. And these are just football.

Sportswriters are among the greatest namers in the business. Sports thrives on performance and performers are they are made notable and memorable by the colorful monikers applied by the fecund minds of journalists. And we just lap them up.

A recent NYT’s piece about the Bronco’s defense epic play left its writer at a loss saying simply that they are the best defense ever. Maybe true but not exactly a memorable smithing of words.

But this does suggest a trend. The use of sports nick names appears to be diminishing. Where we once had The Black Knight, The King, and the Golden Bear, we now have Ricky, Rory, and Jordan.